The present invention relates to pole vaulting landing pits and more particularly to above ground pole vaulting landing pits constructed of a plurality of foam logs which deform upon impact to safely absorb the momentum of a falling athlete.
In recent years, the most extensively utilized above ground athletic landing pits have been those constructed of stiff foam blocks or logs arranged in a brick-like lattice structure in accordance with the teachings of my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,491 issued May 26, 1970 and my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 651,674, filed Jan. 23, 1976, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Such foam log landing pits have proven to be a significant improvement over the sawdust and scrap-foam filler bags heretofore utilized in the athletic field due to their superior cushioning effect, extremely portable nature, increased durability, and pleasing asthetics.
However, even though my previous landing pit devices have been extremely beneficial in general use, there are deficiencies associated in their specific pole vaulting applications. These deficiencies have been primarily due to their inability to accommodate the substantial deflection of the valuting pole adjacent the plant box and their failure to adequately protect the athlete against accidental falls upon the post standards disposed on opposite sides of the pit.
As is well known, fiberglass vaulting poles are typically utilized by athletes in pole vaulting events which, when inserted into the plant box, substantially flex into a curvilinear configuration in response to bearing the athlete's weight and horizontal momentum. As the athlete rises upward, the internal resiliency of the fiberglass causes the vaulting pole to rapidly return to its initial linear configuration, thereby providing a slingshot effect which aids in propelling the athlete over the crossbar.
My prior art landing pit devices have heretofore been constructed with a small cutout portion or opening adjacent the front end thereof, which surrounds the plant box, having substantially planar sidewalls oriented perpendicular to the ground. To provide the maximum protection to the athlete, the positioning of this cutout must be maintained extremely close to the plant box such that, in the event of a short vault by the athlete, the pit will prevent the athlete from falling directly upon the exposed plant box.
However, it has been found that, due to this close positioning of the sidewalls of the opening to the plant box, the vaulter's pole often contacts the rear wall of the opening during the vault. Although the resilient foam of the pit deforms upon this contact, it tends to reduce the magnitude of the vaulting pole flexure during the vault, which in sophisticated competition, may determine the ultimate outcome of the event. A few prior art designs have recognized this deficiency and have included a slight bevel along the top edge of the rear wall of the opening. However, due to the substantial pole flexure encountered during the vault, this small bevel has proven ineffectual in eliminating pole contact with the pit. Hence, many athletes, when using my prior pit designs, position the cutout or opening at a location removed from the plant box which exposes the athlete to an increased safety risk.
Additionally my previous pits, as well as other prior art landing pits, have failed to completely shield the athlete against accidental contact with the post standards located adjacent opposite sides of the landing pit. Typically, post standards are constructed as a rectangular flat plate formed of heavy metal or wood, onto which the vertical post utilized to support the crossbar is rigidly mounted. The standards may be freestanding or, alternatively, be mounted upon a pair of rails anchored upon the ground, either design of which permits the athlete to selectively position the posts along the length of the pit relative the plant box.
Due to the standardization within the sport, these vertical posts, and thus their respective mounting standards, must be separated from one another at a precise distance. Heretofore the prior art landing pits have been sized to precisely fit between the vertical posts which has caused a portion of the standards to extend outwardly and be exposed adjacent the sides of the pit. This direct exposure of a portion of the post standards has posed a significant safety hazard to both the experienced and inexperienced athlete, who occasionally drift laterally during a vault and land upon the post standards.
Although this safety hazard could be decreased by wrapping the post standards with a padding material, such wrapping would fail to provide an adequate cushioning effect and, additionally, may significantly prohibit the selective positioning of the standard along the length of the pit.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved pole vaulting landing pit which can accommodate the substantial flexure of the vaulting pole while preventing direct contact of the athlete with the plant box and completely shielding the post standards from the athlete while permitting the selective positioning of the standards along the length of the pit.